SAL from Raleigh to Hamlet

I am newly interested in the SAL and in particular the operations of the Raleigh to Hamlet portion in the late 50s and early 60s. Copies of track charts, train dispatcher sheets, emp tts, freight consist/blocking books, etc. are what I would really like. I notice in the books available from the Society the "SAL 1952 Track Profile"; does this show all the tracks including passing sidings, side and yard tracks? Also listed is the "Freight Traffic Geography of the SAL"; would this be helpful? What is its date and just what does it cover? I would like to correspond with anyone who shares a similar interest. Thank you!

Answers

I don't have copies of the two Society reprints before me, but I
believe the track profile book shows passing sidings and other major
trackage but not every yard track. The freight geography book is a
comprehensive record of the kinds of freight that moved over the SAL
in the early 50s - as I recall it doesn't specifically list freight
trains, etc., but from all the other info provided, you can certainly
get a very good idea of typical freight movements. As for other
sources, I would strongly recommend finding a back issue of Trains,
May 1963, which has an article "A Tale of Two Freight Trains" by
Parker Lamb. This has a detailed description of Seaboard's freight
operations on the Hamlet-Richmond line, based on a November 1961 cab
ride by the author. It covers SAL motive power and piggyback
practices and is well illustrated with photos, map, and route
profile.

While this doesn't exactly answer your question you might be
interested in seeing the dispatcher's control panel for the Raleigh-
Hamlet line. It's on display at the N.C. Transportation Museum in
Spencer in the roundhouse. It was in use at the Raleigh Division
office in Raleigh until CSX moved the dispatchers to Jacksonville.